NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Aidan Gatz (Elburn, Ill.,) certainly made his first-ever appearances in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships a memorable one Friday evening.
 
Unfazed by the jitters of his first conference championships appearance, Gatz cleared 4.53 meters to win the indoor conference title in the pole vault — and lead the way for the Saint Mary's University track and field teams at the two-day, indoor season-ending meet at Carleton College.
 
Gatz's conference title-winning performance was just one of four SMU individuals to post Top 5 performances during the opening day of the two-day evening.
 
Sydney Klausler (Lakeville, Minn.) got the Cardinal women off and running, posting a second-place leap of 5.34 meters in the long jump, while Sean Curran (Appleton, Wis.) delivered a third-place toss of 16.92 meters in the weight throw to join Gatz and Klausler as First-Team All-MIAC performers.
 
Coleton Strupp (Holmen, Wis.) and Frankie Bakalars (La Crosse, Wis.) also posted individual Top 5 showings, with Strupp clearing 4.28 meters in the pole vault and Bakalars uncorking a toss of 16.26 meters to finish fifth in the weight throw.
 
Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.) chipped in a seventh place in the 400, breaking the tape in 1:01.65, while Klausler — along with her second-place effort in the long jump — delivered a time of 7.59 in the 55 to place ninth and Samantha Kubes (New Prague, Minn.) notched a 12th place in the weight throw, posting a mark of 12.82 meters.
 
Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.) added a 12th in the 400 (52.32) for the SMU men, while Dan Cooper (Belle Plaine, Minn. led a quartet of Cardinals in the men's long jump, placing 10th with a jump of 6.13 meters, followed closely by Chris Bulwa (Glenview, Ill.) who placed 11th in 6.02 meters. Antonio Cisewski (Amherst, Wis.) added a 15th in 5.96 meters and Andrew Martin was 19th in 5.54. meters.
 
In relay action, the women's distance medley team of Emily Kern (Buffalo, Minn.), Abrianna Utgaard (Star Prairie, Wis.), Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.), and Anna Swanson (Osceola, Wis.) placed ninth in 13:42.97, while the men's quartet of Oliver Adamson (Rochester, Minn.), Isaiah Brindamour (Hinckley, Minn.), Brady Johnson (Elburn, Ill.), and Quinn Steinbrecher (Holmen, Wis.) finished eighth in 10:55.00
 
The Cardinals return to Northfield, Minn., on Saturday for the second day of the two-day indoor championships. Field events kick off at 11:45 a.m., with running events set to start at 1 p.m.